Transactinide element facts for kids

Transactinide elements are special elements that have atomic numbers bigger than the actinides. Think of them as elements that come after the actinides on the periodic table. Their atomic numbers range from 104 to 120.

All transactinide elements are synthetic, which means scientists have to make them in laboratories. They are also all radioactive, meaning they are unstable and break down very quickly. The transactinide elements we know about today go from element 104, called rutherfordium, all the way to element 118, called oganesson.

What Are Elements and Atomic Numbers?

Everything around us is made of tiny building blocks called elements. Each element is unique. What makes one element different from another is its atomic number. The atomic number tells us how many protons are in the center of an atom, called the nucleus. For example, hydrogen has 1 proton, so its atomic number is 1. Oxygen has 8 protons, so its atomic number is 8.

Where Do Transactinides Fit In?

The periodic table is like a map of all the known elements. It organizes them by their atomic number and how they behave. The transactinide elements are found at the very end of the periodic table, after a group of elements called the actinides. The actinides are elements with atomic numbers from 89 (actinium) to 103 (lawrencium). Because transactinides come trans (meaning "beyond" or "across") the actinides, they get their name.

Why Are They Synthetic?

Unlike many common elements like oxygen or iron, transactinide elements are not found naturally on Earth. They are created by scientists using special machines called particle accelerators. These machines speed up smaller atoms to incredibly high speeds and then smash them into other, heavier atoms. When the atoms collide, their nuclei can sometimes join together to form a new, heavier element. This process is very difficult and only produces a tiny amount of the new element.

Why Are They Radioactive?

Transactinide elements are very unstable. This means their atoms break apart very quickly, releasing energy and turning into other, lighter elements. This process is called radioactivity. Because they are so unstable, many transactinide elements only exist for a tiny fraction of a second before they decay. This makes them very hard to study. Scientists can only detect them for a very short time after they are made.

How Are They Named?

When a new element is discovered, the scientists who found it get to suggest a name. These names often honor famous scientists, important places, or even mythological figures. For example, element 104, rutherfordium, is named after Ernest Rutherford, a famous physicist. Element 106, seaborgium, is named after Glenn T. Seaborg, another important scientist. The names are then approved by an international organization called the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Examples of Transactinide Elements

Here are some of the transactinide elements that scientists have created and studied:

• Rutherfordium (Rf) - Atomic number 104.
• Dubnium (Db) - Atomic number 105.
• Seaborgium (Sg) - Atomic number 106.
• Bohrium (Bh) - Atomic number 107.
• Hassium (Hs) - Atomic number 108.
• Meitnerium (Mt) - Atomic number 109.
• Darmstadtium (Ds) - Atomic number 110.
• Roentgenium (Rg) - Atomic number 111.
• Copernicium (Cn) - Atomic number 112.
• Nihonium (Nh) - Atomic number 113.
• Flerovium (Fl) - Atomic number 114.
• Moscovium (Mc) - Atomic number 115.
• Livermorium (Lv) - Atomic number 116.
• Tennessine (Ts) - Atomic number 117.
• Oganesson (Og) - Atomic number 118.

Scientists are still trying to create even heavier elements beyond Oganesson. It's an exciting area of research that helps us understand more about the building blocks of the universe!

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